Comments for TheCityFix.com

Comment on Ahmedabad’s Janmarg: Changing the Game for BRT Systems in India by Dario Hidalgo

Dario Hidalgo — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:15:25 +0000

CD:
I strongly believe the success factors in Ahmedabad are a systematic approach to transport reform, good political support at the highest levels (state and municipal), strong leadership of the administrave leaders, and good technical support by CEPT University and the Institute for Transport Development Policy – ITDP. The financial support from the Government of India, through the Jaharawal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission has been also critical.
Other projects in India (Delhi, Pune) have not been complete projects, so they have acheived incomplete results only. See for instance http://www.embarq.org/en/delhi-bus-corridor-evaluation
Regarding the institutional set up, it is important to highlight the creation of Janmarg Ltd. as a Special Purpose Vehicle, in charge of managing the project, contracting and proving oversight to the operation (buses, fare collection, station cleaning, user information systems, etc.). As oppose to Delhi and Pune, operations in Ahmedabad are not under a state owned enterprise, but new contractors under very well written contracts. You can find very good information at http://ahmedabadbrts.com/Resources.html

Comment on Cycling in Beijing by Erica Schlaikjer

Erica Schlaikjer — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:49:26 +0000

Hello Twyla,

Thanks for your interest in cycling. I highly encourage you to get in touch with the blog’s author, Angel Hsu. In the meantime, you can also browse our archives. You might be particularly interested in this post, about using bicycles for transportation AND water filtration: http://thecityfix.com/innovative-bicycle-is-designed-to-meet-needs-of-urban-poor/.

Comment on Cycling in Beijing by twyla matos

twyla matos — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:30:42 +0000

Hi!
I study industrial design at PUC-Rio University, in Brazil. I am graduating this year and my graduation project theme is about carrying things on the bike.
So, I would like to hear from you, who have experience in this subject, what do you think about racks to carrying groceries, what works, what doesn’t work and why?
Your opinion would help me a lot!
Since now, I thank you!

Comment on A Photographic Tour of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg BRT System by Donald Katz

Donald Katz — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:03:04 +0000

Incredible. This will be the model system for station design and placement for the rest of South Asia. Fits the context wonderfully.

Comment on U.N. General Assembly Declares “Decade of Action for Road Safety” by UN Internal Justice | The UN Post

UN Internal Justice | The UN Post — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:00:29 +0000

[...] U.N. General Assembly Declares “Decade of Action for Road Safety” | TheCityFix.com [...]

Comment on Ahmedabad’s Janmarg: Changing the Game for BRT Systems in India by A Photographic Tour of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg BRT System | TheCityFix.com

A Photographic Tour of Ahmedabad’s Janmarg BRT System | TheCityFix.com — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:22:29 +0000

[...] of Ahmedabad’s new BRT system, known as Janmarg, which has garnered recent praise for being a “best practice” of mass transit in Indian [...]

Comment on From New York to Guangzhou: Lessons Learned from Congestion Pricing by Charles Komanoff

Charles Komanoff — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:21:36 +0000

Hi again Angel –

Let’s be clear about the distinction between “self” and “others” opportunity costs from traffic congestion.

People are certainly smart enough to factor in their own opportunity costs in deciding whether and when to drive. But absent congestion pricing, they have no reason to factor in the opportunity costs that their decision to drive imposes on others. Critically, the latter tend to be many times larger than the former. That’s why congestion pricing is essential — to align private decisions with public costs.

My traffic-pricing spreadsheet for New York City, the Balanced Transportation Analyzer, shows the shockingly high social delay costs — from $40 to $140 — caused by a single round-trip by car into the Manhattan Central Business District from 10-12 miles away. The analysis is in the three “Delays”-related worksheets. A different worksheet, “Breakeven,” shows, unfortunately, that only people with fairly high values of time will perceive a private benefit from faster travel with congestion pricing that exceeds the cost of the toll. Again, the gap between private and personal delay costs is pretty stark.

More about the Guangzhou symposium some other time!

Comment on Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning Make a City Fast by Top 21 Time-Saving Cities | TheCityFix.com

Top 21 Time-Saving Cities | TheCityFix.com — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:20:54 +0000

[...] (A similar ranking is Fast Company’s “Fast City” issue, which we highlighted in a previous post.) Planners are accustomed to talking about walkability, bikeability, transportation alternatives, [...]

Comment on From New York to Guangzhou: Lessons Learned from Congestion Pricing by Angel Hsu

Angel Hsu — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:10:55 +0000

Hi Charles! Thanks for the clarification and great to meet you too! I guess I was looking at your argument from the other angle, but you’re right about the cost imposed on others. Do other congestion pricing schemes also factor into account self opportunity costs? It seems that there ought to be some willingness to pay studies out there that determine how much people would be willing to fork over for improved commute times.

I’m also curious to know how the rest of the symposium went – are you blogging more about it anywhere? I also moonlight in Beijing, am interested to know whether congestion pricing is being considered there. I know after the Olympics the gov’t was quite happy to keep in place the odd-even rule, which has dramatically improved traffic there.

Comment on “Beltway Burden”: The Combined Cost of Housing and Transportation by Why Will We Wait? Our Seemingly Infinite Patience With Long Commutes | TheCityFix DC

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:45:54 +0000

[...] On transit, at least you can read the newspaper or a book or even get some work done, if you’re in an industry where reading, writing or Blackberrying is part of your job. Even so, there is plenty of research that shows that people consistently underestimate the costs of commuting as compared to the benefits of living further away. The Urban Land Institute, for example, found that anyone living more than 15 miles away from their work spends more in transportation costs than they save in housing costs. [...]